cartomancy

occult practice

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Last updated

June 24, 2026

Quick Summary

Cartomancy is a form of fortune-telling that uses playing cards. The term "cartomancy" combines "card" with "-mancy," meaning divination. Historically, it was used for various purposes, including predicting details about future marriages.12

While standard playing cards can be used, cartomancy is also closely associated with tarot cards. Tarot decks, which originated in Italy in the 1430s, consist of 78 cards divided into the major arcana (22 cards, also known as trumps) and the minor arcana (56 cards). Each card in a tarot spread is assigned a meaning, which can be influenced by its position and surrounding cards, to interpret spiritual matters, life trends, business, love, conflict, or material comfort.3

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augury
…atmospheric phenomena (aeromancy), cards (cartomancy), dice or lots (cleromancy), dots and other marks on paper (geomancy), fire and smoke (pyromancy), the shoulder blades of animals (scapulimancy), entrails of sacrificed animals (haruspicy), or their livers, which were considered to be the seat of life (hepatoscopy).
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…atmospheric phenomena (aeromancy), cards (cartomancy), dice or lots (cleromancy), dots and other marks on paper (geomancy), fire and smoke (pyromancy), the shoulder blades of animals (scapulimancy), entrails of sacrificed animals (haruspicy), or their livers, which were considered to be the seat of life (hepatoscopy).
Read More